Inspirational Spotlight: From Survivor to Ironman

When Lori and I made the trip to Chattanooga, we knew that we were in for a fun few days and I’m quite sure that we couldn't have had a better experience in the city. We cheered for friends and strangers alike, sported trucker hats around Ironman Village, attempted to go to Lookout Mountain three times without it ever actually happening, enjoyed drinks with fellow cheerleaders, and left the city feeling full of renewed inspiration and sparkle.

Along with cheering for a handful of friends from my triathlon club, I was mainly down there to cheer on Kristen, my high school best friend. Kristen and I did our first sprint triathlon together almost 9 years ago and we had both signed up for Ironman Mont Tremblant in 2012. Because Kristen lives in Virginia and I live in Michigan, we were virtual training buddies. But that didn't keep us from holding each other accountable to our training and checking in with each other on a daily basis.

Just young triathlon pups in 2006 at our first sprint race.

However, on May 5th, 2012, I received a call that no best friend wants to hear. Below is a narrative of what happened to Kristen on May 5^th written by her brother. The story starts right after being rushed to the hospital after collapsing unconscious in a hotel room in Baltimore, Maryland.

“Statistically speaking, Kristen arrived with less than a 20% chance of surviving the first hour, given her condition upon arrival. Paramedics worked on resuscitating her for over 2 hours—as she went into cardiac arrest more than 8 times (leaving a big concern for brain damage if she lived). After a miraculously successful resuscitation and a following CAT scan, Kristen was rushed to the operating room where surgeons removed multiple, massive blood clots from both of her lungs. During the removal of the clots, it was evident that Kristen was also suffering from significant internal bleeding from a lacerated liver as a possible result of a broken rib incurred during CPR. After being cut open and repaired from the top of her chest to the bottom of her abdomen, Kristen was in for a lengthy stay in the Intensive Care Unit.

May 2012- In a coma and fighting for her life.

Roughly 2 weeks in the ICU, 10 surgeries, and dozens of tubes later, Kristen was working her way out of “critical” and into “stable” condition—still barely able to sustain a below-average walking speed for much more than 300 feet. According to many attending medical personnel, the likelihood of Kristen even running again was very slim. But nobody—friends or family—was brave enough to tell her that (mostly because we didn’t want to start an argument with her). But she’d have to tackle this concern eventually.

Right around this two-week mark, one of the ICU doctors (himself, a runner) came by to chat with Kristen. In a conversation with her, he casually stated what everyone else (except Kristen, apparently) already knew to be obvious—that she would definitely not be in any kind of shape to run her less-than-three-months-away Ironman. By the look on her face, it was clear that Kristen had, up to this point, never even reconsidered her plans to run in the upcoming Ironman—she couldn't believe she’d have to sit this one out, she was devastated. And unfortunately, her medical problems were not over.

Just as Kristen was beginning the process of recovering and regaining her strength, more internal bleeding prompted another emergency surgery. An ovarian cyst had ruptured and one of her ovaries would have to be removed. She was almost back where she started—stitches re-opened, ventilator back in, and bed-ridden in the ICU once again.

One month after her arrival, Kristen was discharged from the hospital. 30 pounds lighter, Kristen headed to Michigan to stay with family for what would end up being a 3-month recovery and rehabilitation. Beat-up and beyond malnourished, just sitting up on the couch left her breathless. Small, slow, supervised walks, no more than a few hundred feet would shoot her heart rate up to over 150 beats per minute. She had a long way to go. Through cardiac rehabilitation, she began to re-condition her heart, and as the summer went on, her walks got a little longer and a little faster. “

Fast forward to less than two years after this incident, and Kristen is ready to make another go at Ironman. She decided on Ironman Chattanooga, dusted off her training plan from 2012, and started swimming, biking, and running. Although she did her first triathlon over eight years ago, she was still relatively new to the triathlon scene having focused her efforts on marathon running the past few years (her PR is 3:08- holysmokes!). While Kristen did not take the most traditional approach to Ironman training, I knew that her race performance would still be nothing short of amazing. Slowly but surely, her happy hour attendance started to decrease and her life was consumed with swimming, biking, and running.

Lori and I arrived in Chattanooga two days before the race, just in time to help Kristen prep her gear bags for check-in the next day. On the car ride down to Tennessee, I mentioned to Lori that Kristen’s approach to Ironman was more of a grassroots effort aka- spontaneous and natural. This was made clear pre-race when Lori and I exchanged nervous giggles and glances after Kristen asked us what an Endurolyte pill was and post-race when she told us that she drank Ironman Perform for the first time ever on the course and said that it “tasted gross.”

Race day arrived and Kristen’s race performance was mind-blowing.  She blazed through the 2.4 mile swim in 58 minutes, blew through the 112 116 mile bike course 6 hours, and crushed the hilly 26.2 marathon run in sub-4 hours leading her to an overall time of  11 hours and 3 minutes.  Kristen placed 11^th in the extremely competitive 30-34 age group and 56^th woman overall.  These split times are absolutely amazing, but are made even more spectacular considering that Kristen was battling for her life a mere two years prior.

All smiles as an Ironman Finisher! Sporting the Coeur kit, which just so happens to perfectly stand for "heart and courage."

Kristen’s journey from survivor to Ironman finisher has been incredible, inspiring, and miraculous. Despite the hurdles, the long road to recovery, and the patience that is required to re-build your body, Kristen made the decision to do whatever it took to resume her Ironman journey.  She was given a choice: use the pulmonary embolism as a reason to put her athletic pursuits on the back burner or take the road less traveled and prove to the world that she was strong, determined, and courageous. And let me tell you- the show that she put on at Ironman Chattanooga was nothing short of those qualities. I watched her cross that finish line, full of strength and exuding inspiration with every step, and could not have been more proud of her journey thus far and more excited for her next chapter as she continues to chase her dreams.

-Steph

PS- If you like the super cute tri kit that Kristen is wearing in this picture, it, along with a bunch of other awesome athletic wear items, can be found here.